Eat the Rich! Italians Revolt Against Rich Louts on Sardinian Beaches

You will see no greater contrast between traveling across the relatively narrow island of Sardinia from West to East, ending up at the Costa Smeralda, the Emerald Coast.

You see, the extraordinary interior of Sardinia is alive with people going about their business amidst spring-fed Roman baths that still function though in ruins (women wash clothes in the hottest pools, crazy Brits run swim races in the cooler ones), amidst the most amazing ancient architecture on the planet, what we call “sacred wells” so well constructed you’d think they were built centuries rather then millennia ago, amidst the enormous prehistoric stone towers we call nuraghi, amidst the harsh and dry landscape that manages to yield a decent olive oil and wine like you’ve never tasted, both fabulous and horrible.

On the other hand, the northwest coast of Sardinia offers a stunningly beautiful stretch of coastline, if only its geography wasn’t almost entirely dominated by loutish rich folks who make the land fester with their grand palaces and resources scarce and extraordinarily expensive.

But Italian holiday-goers have begun to fight back:

Millionaires and Hollywood stars visiting Italy have been put on notice that they no longer own the beach after a group of celebrities led by Flavio Briatore, co-owner of QPR football club, were pelted with wet sand and showered with water as they tried to land dinghies on a crowded Sardinian beach.